The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. A natural shoulder joint may undergo degenerative changes due to a variety of etiologies. When these degenerative changes become so far advanced and irreversible, it may ultimately become necessary to replace a natural shoulder joint with a prosthetic shoulder joint. When implantation of such a shoulder joint prosthesis becomes necessary, the natural head portion of the humerus can be resected and a cavity is created in the intramedullary canal of the host humerus for accepting a humeral component. The humeral component includes a head portion used to replace the natural head of the humerus. Once the humeral component has been implanted, the glenoid cavity positioned at the lateral edge of the scapula may also be resurfaced and shaped to accept a glenoid component. The glenoid component generally includes an articulating surface which is engaged by the head portion of the humeral component.
It is generally known in the art to provide a shoulder joint prosthesis having a glenoid component, as discussed above. However, the current prior art glenoid components along with the associated surgical components and instruments utilized during shoulder arthroplasty suffer from many disadvantages.
For example, since the glenoid component is subject to various types of loading by the head portion of the humeral component, the glenoid component must offer a stable and secure articulating surface. To achieve this, some glenoid components provide pegs that are inserted and cemented into holes bored into the glenoid cavity. However, such existing pegged glenoid components also exhibit several disadvantages. For example, some of the pegged glenoid components utilize up to five pegs to stabilize and secure the glenoid component to the scapula. Such glenoid components increase the amount of bone tissue removed, while also increasing the labor and complexity of the shoulder arthroplasty. Other pegged glenoid components may offer one or two larger diameter pegs that reduce the complexity of the shoulder arthroplasty. However, the larger diameter pegs also requires excess bone tissue to be removed that may not be practical in some patients. Furthermore, the use of one or two pegs may potentially reduce overall stability of the glenoid component, similar to a keeled glenoid.
Additionally, most prior art glenoid components only rely on the keel or pegs to secure the glenoid component to the scapula, via a cement mantle. These systems are typically rigid in fixation methods. In this regard, the prior art systems fail to provide a selection of coupling mechanisms which may best be used to address varying degenerative changes or specific muscular needs of a patient.
What is needed then is a glenoid component and associated surgical components for use in shoulder arthroplasty that does not suffer from the above-mentioned disadvantages. This in turn, will provide a glenoid component which is stable and secure, reduces the overall amount of bone tissue required to be removed, reduces inventory, reduces the overall surgical time and complexity, increases overall medial surface area, enhances and increases attachment strength and adaptivity without increasing overall peg diameter, provides a fully enhanced coupling mechanism and increased overall stability, and provides increased tensile and shear strength. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide such a glenoid component and associated surgical components for use in shoulder arthroplasty.